Man's Wife Found Dead in Suitcase

Investigators believe she was strangled

Herndon police say a man's wife was found in a suitcase after he arrived at police headquarters with a note saying he had killed her.

Police say the unidentified 36-year-old woman's body was found Friday in a suitcase on the couple's apartment balcony in the Stuart Woods II complex in Herndon. Her name was not released pending notification of family members.

Investigators believe she was strangled. She was not dismembered, but was apparently small enough to fit into the large suitcase.

Officers say 34-year-old Jamie Kuhne has been charged with murder after officers were sent to the family's apartment and found the woman.

According to the Washington Post, Kuhne worked for the Minerals Management Service, a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior, and had a Web page on LinkedIn, an online professional networking site, which said he was a professional management fellow for the service.

Police records confirm there were signs of trouble in the couple's relationship as late as November, when Herndon police were called to the couple's apartment on Tamarack Way for a reported domestic dispute.

Police were also called to the apartment in October 2008 for the same reason, and the woman apparently called police from the apartment in August to report that a domestic incident had happened in the District, police told the Post.

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A neighbor who wished to remain anonymous told News4 the woman and her son were out a lot, but Kuhne was a different story. "I only saw the father a few times. He didn't speak. He was very quiet, but the mom and the little boy... she was very friendly," she said. 

The couple has a one-year-old son, who was placed in Child Protective Services Saturday. Police say Kuhne dropped his son off at day care before he went to the police station.

The child was not harmed, but police believe he may have been in the apartment when his mother was killed, either late Thursday or early Friday.

Kuhne is scheduled to appear in court Monday.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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